Alabama's photo voter ID law, enacted in 2014, joins a fundamental shift toward increasingly strict voter ID laws in the United States, experts say. According to data maintained by the National Conference of State Legislatures, 17 states will ask for some form of photo ID in the 2018 midterm elections. Another 17 states require some type of non-photo identification beyond a simple signature at the polls.

Proponents of Alabama's photo voter ID law contend it ensures the integrity of the voting process, but researchers say in-person voting fraud is statistically nonexistent in the United States. Nonprofits working to increase voter participation believe it unnecessarily complicates the voting process.

Voters in Alabama may wish to cast a "straight party vote" on Tuesday, meaning voting down the ballot for every Republican or Democratic candidate.

This option is found at the top of the ballot. Voters can fill in the bubble next to their party preference.

However, if you wish to vote primarily for one party with a few exceptions, you can still use the straight party vote bubble. Secretary of State John Merrill said any bubbles filled in below the straight party choice will still be counted.

"... [If] a voter wishes to vote for any candidate outside the party that they have chosen, they may do so by marking the space next to the candidate’s name," Merrill said in an emailed statement last week. "Regardless of whether the voter cast a straight party vote or not, filling in the bubble next to a candidate’s name will be counted as the voter’s choice in that contest."

Voters marked inactive can vote on Election Day, according to the Secretary of State's office, but will be asked to update their information at the polls. Make sure to bring updated address information to the polls if you think you might be marked inactive.

In 2017, Alabama's Secretary of State office began a process of verifying voter registration information through a mailer campaign.

The postcard campaign was sent to every registered voter in Alabama, according to the Secretary of State's website. If the voter information on the card is incorrect or outdated, the voter was asked to mark "return to sender" on the card and mail it back. These cards were not allowed to be forwarded to voters with forwarding addresses on file with the post office.

Returned postcards would trigger a second round of mailers, according to the website. If the recipient failed to respond to the second postcard, they would be placed on the inactive voter list.

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Alabama's new #Voted stickers have made it at least as far south as Auburn, Ala., as voters turn out to vote in the primary runoff election Tuesday, July 17, 2018.(Photo: Julie Bennett / Advertiser)

Secretary of State John Merrill told the Advertiser in October "nobody is ever denied access to the vote when they're listed as inactive" after Democratic congressional candidate Mallory Hagan launched a voter protection committee amid concerns about voters rolls.

Alabamians can also contact the Secretary of State's office Voter Hotline at 1-800-274-8683.

How do I find my polling place in Alabama?

You can look up your polling place on the Secretary of State's website here. The site asks for your county, last name and birth date to determine your polling assignment.